I yam what I yam... and I yam one!

This Saturday was Remy's birthday party, and we had a fun time!  It was my first time putting together an actual party, and it turned out really well.  I think the party was more for Ben and me as parents; a celebration of our first year of successful parenting.  

I decided to do a sailor theme, thanks to my friend Rachele.  I received inspiration here and here.  I also used some free printables from here for the cupcake toppers and Remy's birthday sign, which I failed to take a picture of.  I didn't like the shapes on the cupcake toppers, so I used the blank ones and downloaded a free font that went better with the theme. The colors turned out a lot darker when I printed them out on cardstock, but I thought they were still pretty cute.

I decided that it would be cute to have Remy wear a sailor shirt, but I didn't want to make anything too time consuming.  I normally wouldn't have Remy wear a themed outfit for his birthday party, but with October just around the corner, I decided it could double as his Halloween costume.  I planned everything out in my head using two t-shirts to put together a sailor top.  The only problem was that I couldn't find plain t-shirts in the right size.  I adapted my plan, and used two onesies instead.  And I have to say, it turned out much better than I had imagined.  Maybe I'll put together a tutorial because it was super easy.

 Front

Back

For Remy's smash cake, I decided to make a round cake and put a sailboat on top.  It was super easy, and only required a bamboo skewer and paper.  It was my kind of cake, because it was inexpensive.  

For party favors, I decided to make sailboat cookies.  I love the way decorated cookies and cakes look and I've been wanting to try my hand at it for a while, so it was my chance to splurge on a pastry bag and tip set.  My friend Penny helped me decorate the cookies, and she is my craft mentor because she is so talented.  I decided to package them in some inexpensive bags I bought from Walmart.  I shredded some blue paper I already had in our shredder and put it in the bottom of the bags like confetti.

For food, we just made up some sandwiches using rolls from Costco.  We also bought some lunch-size bags of chips and grapes, and we were set.  My friend Nancy helped me with the food prep.

We ate outside and had a great time with our party guests.  It turns out that outside is the best place to eat a smash cake.

I was even able to get Remy to eat a sandwich before it was cake-eating time.

And then we gave Remy his cake:

My favorite part in the video is when Remy tries to fling the frosting off his hands, but it's stuck.  I'm no sure why the color in the video is so blue.  It seems almost all videos from our camera end up that way, but we were able to take some cute pictures of Remy that turned out better.

 Remy is experiencing the sugar high

Yum yum!

 All done Mom!

UPDATE:  The title of the post comes from Popeye.  Popeye is a sailor man, hence the connection to our sailor-themed birthday party.

Two Months!

Remy is two months old! Today we had his two month doctor visit, and I can't believe how much he's grown!  He now weighs 10 lbs 9 oz, and stretches out to 22 inches.  He can hold his head up now.  And he is more social, noticing the world around him.  He smiles at us, and loves it when we play and talk to him.  He talks back now through his coos, and we love hearing all that he has to say.  He is very active and loves to move and stretch his muscles.  He has even managed to roll over twice.  He sleeps for at least one four hour stretch at night, sometimes longer when he's swaddled.

We love our little guy, and are enjoying all the time we get to spend with him.

Remy's Baby Blessing

The real reason we made the trip to Idaho was Remy's baby blessing. Since Ben and I are both from Idaho, we decided it would be easier for us to make the trip up there with Remy, rather than having everyone come down to Utah.  Due to Stake Conference, we opted to have Remy blessed at my parents' house.  It was a great setting because it was a much more intimate so we could invite the most important people in our lives.

The blessing Ben gave Remy was amazing!  It made me realize all the good things we want for Remy, not just as a baby now, but for the rest of his life.  And I was pleased that my grandfather, my dad, Ben's dad, my brothers, and Ben's friends could participate, making this a memorable occasion. 

Father and Son

Our Little Family

Brandon, Ben, Remy, and Robert

Beau, Mike, Ben, Remy, and Grant

Ben opening a gift from Todd and Christy

Me, Remy, Mom, and Vicki

After the blessing, we got to and eat and mingle.  My parents put together a nice meal for everyone, and it was nice to spend time together.  I love spending time with my nieces and nephews especially, because I don't get to see them much.  One of my favorite moments was when I realized how much of an attitude my niece Peyton has.  I told her that she looked so cute, and she turned to me and said, "No, I'm not so cute!"  I love it!! 

Caitlan, Ashley, Ben, and Remy

(Everyone commented that Caitlan and I looked the same because we were both wearing black dresses)

Steven, Deborah, Brandon, and Aurora

Robert, Peyton, and Nic

Aurora holding Remy

(Because he was crying, she only wanted to hold him for a few seconds).

After I took Remy away, Aurora was sad because she decided she didn't get to hold the baby long enough.  My mom, to everyone's surprise, came rushing in and sat on her lap, pretending to be a baby.  We all had a good laugh at that. 

 

My beautiful mother

A Swing for the Hursts

For about a couple of weeks now, Ben and I have debated about getting a swing. Ben has really, REALLY wanted to get one for Remy, but I didn't want to because I didn't really feel like we needed one. So last week, I received a baby swing as a gift from my boss Dee. I knew Ben would be thrilled about the Remy's latest toy. And I was right! The assembly was the first thing Ben did after work! It was almost like watching a kid in the candy store, just to see him put it together.

And then Remy got to try it. He loves it as much as his daddy. Most of the time, he just sits there contently. If he fusses a little bit, he can easily be soothed by switch it from the swing to the cradle sway, or from the cradle sway to the swing. Remy has even fallen asleep in the swing a couple times.



I don't know why I was hesitant about getting the swing now. It definitely lets me do more stuff around the house, which is nice. The swing I guess is for all of us. Although, I think it might have served Dee as well because I am able to get more work done. Either way, I have an awesome boss!

Izzy and Remy

Last week, my sister-in-law Sarah came for a visit from North Carolina for her sister's baby blessings. They made time to come and see us, which is nice since we don't get to see them too often. Ben's mom came down as well so that she could see her grandchildren. We all went out to dinner at Red Robin and had good time catching up.

Five Weeks

Our little guy is growing so fast. Everyone tells you that, but it doesn't really mean anything until you see your baby growing right in front of you. At five weeks, he is so much bigger! I can hardly believe this is the same outfit we took him home from the hospital in.


Here are the other pictures, just for comparison:





I had to add this picture too. Lately, Ben has been trying to help Remy sit up on the couch. He's a little young, but Ben got him just right with the help of the pillow. I love the expression on Remy's face.

Remington's Baby Shower

After long consideration, I have finally boarded the blog train. This has only come about after receiving frequent suggestions from several friends. And so chronicling my life online begins...

The subject of my first post...my baby shower!! This past weekend, I drove up to Idaho to attend the baby shower my mother arranged for me, with some much needed help from me. My younger sister is also getting married this month (in two weeks) and so my mom has been preoccupied trying to arrange two events at the same time. Luckily, for me, the baby shower was a hit.

Just to give a little background about the baby shower theme, I decided on a Construction theme, as our little baby is currently "under construction." I found some cute invitations online, but they were pretty expensive, so I found a graphic designer on Etsy and she designed these cute invitations. You can check out her other creations at her Etsy shop. We paid $15 for the image, and then took it to a local print shop to pay for the copies and envelopes. Overall, it was much less expensive than the premade invitations you can order online. And we received a ton of compliments on the invitations:


For decorating, we started out with basic construction colors: orange, yellow, black, and white. However, after we found some cute fabric from the Joann's Fabric Store with construction trucks, we had to add in some other colors. We used the fabric to make these fantastic table runners.


The funny thing is that I was going to sew the edges of the runners so they didn't fray. However, with everything going on, I was just too tired, so I just ended up cutting them. Even so, I think they turned out pretty nice. I figure with the leftover fabric, I can make a cute quilt for little Remy. My mom and I added some construction toys as decorations for the tables, with the bigger toys serving as balloon weights. Underneath the fabric runners, there are orange tablecloths that we made from the plastic vinyl at Zurchers. We also added some Construction signs, but I didn't get any pictures of those.


My mom is also super creative, and so she made cupcake toppers from a puzzle she bought for Remy. She took the puzzle pieces to the same print shop and had them make copies reduced in size. Isn't the puzzle so cute?


Then, with some zots, toothpicks, and scrapbooking paper, she made these wonderful cupcake toppers. I helped assemble the toppers and made the cupcakes, but all credit goes to my mom. Here is the finished product on the cupcake stand:


For guest favors, my mom and I decided to give out little bags of M&Ms with a tag. This was somewhat of a last minute decision, and involved a midnight trip to Winco's bulk food section. To make the favors, we just used plastic bags and curling ribbon. My mom made the tags because she is a scrapbooking fiend, and once again, I was on assembly duty. They turned out really cute though. As it turned out, we used all the M&Ms making the favors, but there were some leftover, which I brought home and my husband Ben is appreciating.


As for the actual shower, my sister-in-law Deborah was in charge of the baby shower games. And we played quite a few. The first one was to guess the amount of candy in these baby bottles. And, the winners were all from Ben's side of the family! His mom, aunt, and cousin's wife were the winners. I smell conspiracy!


We also played Jeopardy using questions and a board that Deborah made up. Some of the questions were surprisingly tricky, including those from the category "Famous Baby Names." Guessing the names of Britney Spears children and Angelina Jolie proved quite the challenge. However, I think it was the game that was the most fun.


Other games included guessing the type of chocolate that was melted in diapers, and guessing how big my belly was. Here I am getting my belly measured by Deborah. Caitlan, my sister was the closest, but that was due to some help from me.


Then, it was time to open presents. I got quite a few things for little Remy including many outfits. This is just one of my favorites. The little out fit with the fish says, "I'm a Keeper." Thanks Caitlan!


I got this cute overall outfit from my sister-in-law Nic. She couldn't go to the baby shower, so I got her gift in advance, but opened it in front of everyone so that they could see.


This is a little outfit I received from my mother-in-law Vicki. You can see my little niece Aurora helping me display the gifts. She was so cute and handed me each gift so that I could open them. What a big help!


This is also one of my favorite gifts. This is a diaper bag that my mom's friend Kathy made for me. She is an avid quilter, and you can see how cute the bag is. It folds in half so you can carry it around like a purse, and she made a matching changing pad. She also made a really cute quilt for Remy, which is super soft and will be well-loved.


My mom, in addition to putting on a baby shower for me, bought the crib bedding that I picked out. It is the Nojo Jungle Tales Series. The pictures though, don't do it credit because it has so much texture to it. She bought the 6 piece crib set, extra valences, extra crib sheets, the rug, and the hamper.


Other favorite gifts include the baby afghan that my Aunt Sherron made for little Remy, and the quilt and outfit my grandmother made for me. My grandmother passed away at the end of June, and we had her funeral a week before the baby shower. Although she was 93, her passing was unexpected, so it is very touching that she already had a gift for me. In fact, when I showed the gifts to my husband Ben, I burst out crying because of all my emotions, which are super enhanced due to the pregnancy.



Here is another one of my favorite gifts, which is from my sister Ashley. She bought me a baby food maker! It must be known that I found this baby food maker on the Williams and Sonoma website about two years ago. Upon its discovery, I immediately called Ashley and said, "When I have a baby, this is what I want you to get me." So when I was planning the baby shower with my mom, Ashley told me she already knew what to get me. Isn't she awesome?


After opening the gifts, everyone went home, and I took a much needed nap! Remy's baby shower took a lot of planning and work, and although it was a lot of fun, I am glad it is over!